The Khanum
by The Real Christine Daae
Summary: THIS STORY IS FINALLY FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!! (I think I'm going to faint!) (Story is actually rated R but will not show up on a regular search unless it is rated PG-13) Erik is serving in Persia, some of the darkest hours of his life!!!!!!
1. Chapter 2

Thank you to all my Phans for the reviews so far! Here is the continuation I promised . . . if you like keep reviewing and I'll keep writing! Yeah! My apologies to Malfoy for the typos... I wrote the first section late at night!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Phantom of the Opera characters and Susan Kay reserves all rights to her ideas for Erik's time in Persia, on which this phic is based upon.  
  
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SOME SEXUAL MATERIAL.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Nadir waited patiently for permission to enter Erik's private quarters. He had not seen him for several days and the eunuch servants said he had not eaten or left his room since that afternoon in the Khanum's chamber.   
  
"Erik, please let me in," he pleaded through the door. "Tell me what has upset you. Perhaps something can be done.  
  
After a few moments he heard the bolts on the door slide back and footsteps withdraw. Nadir entered to see a complete mess of his apartment. Papers were strewn across the floor; pillows and silk lined blankets from the bed adorned every corner of the room as though he had been throwing them. The exhausted looking Erik dropped down on the floor where it was evident that he had remained for quite some time, proof by the piles of discarded crumples of papers surrounding him.  
  
Nadir walked over to Erik and picked up one of the papers and unfolded it, brushing out the creases.  
"What is it?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Something horrible," Erik said grimly.  
  
"Erik, what has happened to you?" Nadir asked as he knelt down beside his masked friend.  
  
"It should never have been like this," Erik said out loud to himself. "He didn't teach me all he knew to be used like this."  
  
"Who?" Nadir was almost afraid to ask. Erik didn't answer him. He got up and walked over towards the balcony over looking the garden ponds.  
  
"There are so many beautiful things in this world, tell me why I am condemned to creating the horrors that stain it's perfection?"  
  
"I don't know, Erik. Why don't you just leave this place? The palace can be built by the workers if you leave them the proper instructions and you could just move on."  
  
"Move on?" Erik said to him coldly. "Where should I move on to? Don't you think I tire of running from place to place? Here I have every comfort I could dream for and only at the price of a few wretches broken necks whom nobody cares for anyway."  
  
"You know you can just leave and those 'poor wretches' you speak of could have a little chance for survival."  
  
Erik made a derisory sound, "I was beginning to think I was doing them a favor after having seen those so-called jails you keep them in. Most of those men will never see the light of day again. At least facing me they stand a chance."  
  
"Stand a chance? You must be joking!" Nadir said angrily to him. "You know that there is not a single man in those jails with enough skill to defend against the common criminals that run this country, much less against you. The shah promises them their freedom if they defeat you, but by all respects they cannot! How is that mercy?"  
  
Erik stared at him icily through the cut holes of his mask and did not answer. "I grow weary of your constant badgering. What do you care? You have slain a good handful of men in your position, just as I have mine."  
  
Nadir did not reply. He knew that it was true, but never out of bloodlust, as he feared Erik did.   
  
"When will it end? You know that the Khanum will never be satisfied. She will drain every last drop of humanity that resides in your body until you are near death and then she will strike and enjoy watching you die," Nadir argued.  
  
"I have no humanity in me! All humanity left my being the moment I was born to a world whose nature is to shun this!" He took off his mask and turned to face Nadir with a poisonous glare.  
  
"Erik, you can say all you want about not being part of the human race, but the truth is, you are! Just because you say that you no longer have to abide by the rules of man, doesn't mean that it is law. Is there no hell you fear?" Nadir demanded of him.  
  
"I have glimpsed hell by the life I have lived and this is living proof!" he shoved a handful of his design drawings into Nadir's face and throwing them on the ground at his feet.  
  
Nadir sighed and dropped his shoulders in resignation. There would be no further arguing with Erik on this matter.  
  
Erik began again, but his weariness showed in his voice and his body. He seemed weaker. "The truth is, I don't know where I belong in this world. Maybe the only purpose for my being here on this earth is to show people that there is more to fear than their own mortal sin."  
  
He dropped back down into a chair and rubbed his temples before returning the mask to his face with shaking hands. He quietly sobbed, trying to hide it from the man standing behind him.  
  
"Is there a reason you came to see me?" Erik asked.   
  
"Yes, The Khanum has requested that you see her in her quarters immediately."   
  
Erik let out a huge sigh and asked, "What does that woman want now? Does she not know that I've spent the past three days working on her latest request? Every time I turn around she wants something more of me!"  
  
Nadir waited outside the room while Erik changed his clothing, so he could escort him as far as the outer walls of the harem. He could see that Erik was very tired and probably had not slept much, if at all, since their last meeting. Nadir hoped that Erik did not have the strength to start a confrontation with the reigning Khanum, despite his exhausted short temper.  
  
When the two eunuchs took Erik from Nadir's watch, he felt a certain amount of pity for him as Erik cast a feeble glance back at him. He could not be much more than twenty-two and already he had to serve the whims of an evil ruler. Nadir wished he could pray to Allah to strip his talents away so that his burden's could be released, but in respect that he had been cursed with such an awful visage, he was thankful that the almighty maker had compensated him with something.  
  
Although Erik was weary, he still maintained his usual regal air when approaching the Khanum's ornately carved doors. He took a deep breath to compose himself before entering the domain of the shah's mother. The moment he stepped through the doors and left the eunuch's behind him in the hall, he noticed something wasn't quite right. There were no sounds of the harem girls and their usual reaction to his entrance. There were no servants waiting in the corners of the large room, and at first, Erik was unable to locate the presence of the Khanum. He waited several moments before calling to her, "Madame? You summoned me?"  
  
After a few moments more she finally answered him. A soft voice rose from the thin curtains of the canopied bed.  
  
"Erik, tell me about the women in your country."  
  
Erik was still unable to see her, but directed his voice towards hers on the bed, "The women in my country are much like the women everywhere. They are very simple creatures who do not dream any further than their mother's tales of marital bliss will allow."  
  
"And?" her voice came curiously from the pillows themselves.  
  
"And they all fear me," Erik said with venom in his voice.  
  
"I do not fear you, Erik. Does that make me so different from the rest?"  
  
"You should fear me Madame. I could kill you as easily as I do your prisoner men."  
  
"Is that a threat," her voice came evenly.  
  
"Why should I kill you? You keep all the others from killing me."  
  
She laughed dryly at his remark and said, "That much is true, but I doubt they could kill you if they wanted to."  
  
"Why did you ask about the women in my country?" Erik inquired.  
  
After a moment's consideration, she answered, "The travelers from the mission tell of their beauty. I have heard many stories of this from different corners of the continent. Tell me Erik, do you find me as beautiful?"  
  
Erik did not answer. He could not decipher her point in this questioning. Before he could answer, she rose up from the bed. Erik was entirely too shocked to register what he was seeing before she demanded that he answer her. She was wearing nothing but a thin crepe gown, through which he could see most everything that her long hair did not cover. He began to sweat under his mask and felt his body grow very hot. Why was she nearly naked he wondered to himself frantically as the urge to escape the room that seemed to close in on him and expand at the same time grew urgent.  
  
When Erik did not answer her second demand for an answer, she smiled slyly to herself and raised herself up to the thin curtain that separated the two.  
  
"What are you thinking Erik? She asked in a seductive tone.  
  
"M m madame," he stammered, "I have a lot of work to do. The designs are nearly finished for the device you requested and..."  
  
She shushed him with a sound that sent cold chills up Erik's spine. He could not remember feeling so incredibly vulnerable and unsure of himself. He could not help but stare at her one visible breast, despite the urge to look away, should she be angered. He kept wondering the same thought in his mind, why is she doing this? Does she want an excuse to have me arrested? He finally forced his gaze to the ceiling where it stayed until he heard her draw the curtains back.  
  
"Erik," she beckoned with her index finger, "Come and sit by me."  
  
Erik turned abruptly to run from the room. The urge to escape that closing space was overpowering his physical desire to see more, to touch more.   
  
"Erik!" she called to him harshly. "How dare you run from me. I have given you an order and you will obey it!"  
  
Had Erik been in full capacity of his senses, he would have continued to flee, but his emotions were so mixed up at the moment, he could do nothing but listen to her order. He stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned towards her. The Khanum could see her effect on him and she smiled to herself as she moved aside to accommodate him on the edge of the bed.  
  
He slowly sat down beside her, every muscle in his body drawn taunt from the desire that was raging in his body at seeing hers and the uncommon fear that had struck him to the bone. Like a snake, she slid up next to him and lifted the mask off his face that continued to stare straight ahead.  
  
Her hennaed hand slid up his arm and she whispered in his ear, "Why don't you face me?"  
  
Erik's mouth was dry and even if he could answer her, he did not know what to say."  
  
The Khanum impatiently thrust her hand to the crotch of his pants and exclaimed, "You would not dare defy me would you Erik?"  
  
Panic broke loose in Erik's head and he bolted out the door as fast as he could, his heart racing a thousand miles a minute. He was so entirely confused by her behavior that he refused to think about what had just happened. She was taunting him, teasing him into a little game of hers. He would not play along with it, he vowed! He would not; but then again, a small part of him had wanted to. As much as he could not deny it, she stirred something in him that he had long since repressed into the bowels of his inner being. How could he feel something towards that woman and what was it exactly he felt? In a half-crazed moment as he sat on her bed, he had wanted to take her, consequences or no, and the thought of that made him sick.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	2. Chapter 1

Hello once again to all my Phellow Phans!   
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Phantom of the Opera, as they belong to M. Leroux. This work is based on Susan Kay's novel Phantom, to which I claim no rights to either. The story takes place in Erik's earlier years before his "occupation" as the Phantom of the Opera and before Christine Daae. Erik is in Persia under the commission of the Shah and his mother the Khanum.  
  
Read on and enjoy! Please review this and tell me what you think! If I get at least ten reviews I will post more!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A sickening crack rang through the small arena followed by a dull thud as the prisoner's body hit the dirt floor. Erik's lithe body returned to a relaxed stance from its taunt panther-like attack pose. He sighed as he wound the Punjab lasso back beneath his black performance cloak as he studiously ignored the cheers and clapping from the balcony above him.  
  
How he hated and loathed the Khanum for insisting upon these death matches for her morbid entertainment. Erik solemnly wondered if she would ever tire of seeing him kill and how many more would fall by his hand before she realized that there was no man living who could escape his keen eye and quick hands when dealing with his favored weapon.   
  
He shrugged his shoulders to himself as he calmly walked to the body and stared down at the poor wretch with a slight feeling of pity. The Khanum pulled at least fifty of these thieves and cutthroats each week from the Mazanderan prison to fight in her private arena. The deal was simple; defeat him and they may go free. Of course they did not have any choice in the matter. If they refused to face him, they were executed, and every man in the kingdom knew Erik's skill with the Punjab lasso. That little string of catgut weighted with iron to crush the back of the skull was a common weapon, but required amazing dexterity to maneuver to the point where death where assured with every strike. Erik's fame had spread so widely and the rumors fanned so deeply that even the most skilled murderer was apprehensious at entering the arena to face this deadly killer.  
  
Erik waved his hand for two eunuchs to take the body away. The head lolled to one side as they picked it up, clear evidence of a broken neck by the lasso. Erik turned on his heel when the body was out of sight to face the Khanum who was looking down with delight from her balcony window.  
  
"I trust you are satisfied for the day Madame. If it so please thee, I should like to return to my quarters."  
  
The Khanum did not answer for a few moments. She enjoyed making him wait for her answers. He was so pleasing to watch when he became impatient and agitated.  
  
"I take your silence as a yes," Erik said icily and turned to leave but she stopped him.  
  
"Wait just a moment you disrespectful corpse. I never dismissed you," she hissed at him through her veil.  
  
"Madame, when will you learn that I never wait for anyone's dismissal. I leave when I choose to."  
  
The Khanum's attitude changed and her eyes softened. "That may be true, but I desire your presence in my room. I'll expect you shortly." She turned to leave the open balcony and did not wait for him to argue.  
  
Erik bowed and said through his teeth, "With pleasure."  
  
The eunuch accompanied Erik to the Khanum's quarters but trailed just far enough behind him to be out of arms' reach. Erik tried not to notice how everyone shrank from him. It was an all too familiar reminder of the fear that his face invoked, but at the same time, he felt incredibly powerful. There were only a few men he had encountered in his life who were capable of inflicting fear with a glance and all of those were either royalty or rulers of some sort or another. Erik felt very smug about having elbowed his way in with the likes of them, but ironically he did not care because they were part of the human race he so despised. As much as he enjoyed the power given to him, he still could not deny the fact that he hated every one of the people who gave it to him.  
  
When he entered the Khanum's room, he found her in her usual place, propped up on pillows behind a thin gauze curtain. It was a sentence of death to any man who gazed upon the Khanum's uncovered face or body, even when invited for a personal audience. The only acceptation being the eunuch's who had been stripped of their manhood at a very early age. The young servant girls who frequented her wing of the palace all shrank away at the sight of Erik in his black battle mask and cloak. He hardly glanced in their direction as he felt once again the bile rise in his throat at the remorseful thought that no woman would ever want him.  
  
Well, almost no woman.  
  
The Shah was probably the only person in the kingdom who did not notice the sadistic way she seemed enthralled by watching Erik kill. It was well whispered through the servants quarters and the harem that her intentions for Erik's services went well beyond her desire to see blood spilled in her name. Everyone could see that, except for her son, and Erik.  
  
Erik was in his early twenties. No matter how many men he killed or how grand his inventions were, he still retained that boyish innocence when it came to the opposite sex. In his desperate battle to ignore his pulsing instinct, he had convinced himself that because he would never know a woman's touch; he had no use for the knowledge that accompanied it. He ignored it so much in fact, that he could not see that the Khanum used it against him.  
  
"I suppose you want to know why I summoned you?" The woman slyly asked.  
  
Erik did not answer but nodded his head.  
  
"As interesting as your so-called fights may be, you are beginning to bore me and that is not a good quality in a servant who..."  
  
Erik cut her off, "Madame, I am not your servant, might I remind you. And I if I bore you, then there is no hope in satisfying your insatiable desire for I am the only person capable of that!"  
  
The Khanum smiled seductively and said, "You may be more right than you know."  
  
"I beg your pardon?"  
  
"Never mind about that now. I desire a small task of you that would result in a hefty sum of money if you succeed," she replied.  
  
Erik sighed wearily, "You know that money holds no interest for me."  
  
"You ungrateful little dog! You don't even know what it is I offer you! Perhaps in the future you would oblige to hear me out before you go refusing!" she snapped.  
  
Erik made no move to reply and stared at her with a venomous look that no mask could conceal. He waited for her to make her proposal but as usual she let him wait impatiently.  
  
"Well? What is it you want me to do?"  
  
"I'm not so sure I want you to perform this task for me now. And take off that infernal mask. I cannot stand it when I am unable to see your hideous face!"  
  
"As you wish Madame," He hissed as he untied the mask and tossed it at the foot of the canopied bed.  
  
She waited another moment or two, reveling in his angered ugliness before telling him what she desired.  
  
"I wish for you to build something for me."  
  
Erik replied sarcastically when she did not continue, "Something? Is there anything in particular you wanted or should I take it that you have assumed I can now read minds?"  
  
"You know how I love a good execution. I desire you to build a sort of torture chamber. One in which I can view amusing deaths without the condemned victim knowing."  
  
"A torture chamber?" he echoed dully.  
  
"Yes! Do I have to repeat everything to you? For a genius your stupidity really grows on my nerves!" she snapped back at him. That did it. Erik could take his physical appearance to be mocked and jeered due to a lifetime of enduring it, but when one tried his intelligence, his temper flared madly and threatened to burn him through.  
  
"A torture device? Yes I suppose a torture device will do quite nicely in your courtyard. Perhaps I should paint it red to match the blood that already paints the floors!" Erik yelled madly. "Now if you will excuse me, Madame," his voice dripped with sarcasm, "It would seem I have work to do!"   
  
He did not wait for her dismissal and stormed out of her bedroom, leaving her smiling with satisfaction behind him.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Please review this Phiction if you desire to read more of it! Pretty pretty pleeeeeeease!!!!!!!! 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah blah... none of this belongs to me . . . just read it! Ahh... the gravy thickens!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Erik turned his head for only a moment from his work and heard a crash and the shattering of glass. He leapt down from the balcony with a whip in his hand.  
  
"You idiot!" he let the whip crack down hard on the servant's back whom had been carrying the rather large section of mirror. "Do you know what you have done you ignorant little fool?" he roared at the man who cowered before him.  
  
The man tried to stammer an apology but Erik silenced him, "Enough! You will have to answer to the Khanum for the delay this will cause in the construction, for I certainly shall not!"  
  
The man backed away to recover the broken pieces of mirror that had fallen at their feet. Erik turned and lifted his mask just enough to wipe the frustrated sweat away that trickled constantly into his eyes. It had been a week since the 'bedroom incident' and still he had refused to see the Khanum, even in the presence of her servants and harem girls. It would not matter if the world's population were in that same room, he would still feel the frightening unsure emotions brought on by that woman's reptilian gaze.  
  
The other servants moved quickly to deposit the rest of the ordered supplies to Erik's private courtyard. Although it was going to be a pain to move the chamber once built to the arena in the Khanum's private sector, he simply could not go near that place yet. He planned to built it in sections and then piece them together towards the end of the construction.  
  
As Erik readied himself for bed, he remained deep in split thoughts. One side of his brain remained working on the chamber, while the other dwelled on Nadir's insistence to talk about what happened. How could he tell him? He himself did not know what happened.  
  
Nadir had come to see him the evening after Erik's nerves had been frayed by the Khanum's unusual behavior. Erik refused to tell him anything, but at every moment, his thoughts became more and more tangled and confused, until he himself refused to think about what happened. Just pretend it never happened, he told himself as he devoted every waking moment to the uprising of his macabre creation. And yet, with each of those passing moments, the more he swore to ignore the feelings he had had, the more he unconsciously forced himself to dwell on it.  
  
Nadir sank quite a deal of unsuccessful funds into paying the eunuchs to find out what exactly had transpired between the ruling Khanum and Erik, but since there had been no one present, there was no information to be revealed. He found it unusual that she would have sent ALL of her servants away, after all, Erik was the 'madman' hereabouts and a quite successful murderer to boot.   
  
The Khanum entered Erik's quarters without so much as knocking. She curtly told the servants to wait out in the hall as she wished to speak to Erik in private. He looked up at her from where he sat on the bed with much apprehension and realized that he was without his mask. He fumbled to grasp it in his shaking hands from off the table. It dropped to the marble floor with a soft clatter.  
  
"Leave it!" she ordered. Erik backed away from her as she sat down on the edge of his bed. "You know Erik, about the other night," she began, "I was quite angry with you for leaving me so suddenly."  
  
Erik felt his head hit the headboard of the bed with a dull thump as he realized that he could move no farther away. 'Why am I so afraid of you?' he questioned his brain as she continued to inch closer and closer to him. 'I'm not afraid of anything,' he thought as his hand still feebly grasped in the direction of the mask. His only comfort and defense now lay mockingly only a few feet away from his touch, but he could not move to get it.  
  
The Khanum's hand trailed lazily up the length of Erik's outstretched leg, feeling every muscle tighten to stone as her hand drifted over it.  
  
"Why do you resist me Erik?" she purred as she leaned in closer and closer.  
  
"I don't know," came his whispered reply.  
  
"I know you want this," she whispered back, "I know how you desire this."  
  
With no where to go and the space between their faces closing, Erik's panic paralyzed him. His breath caught in his throat as he felt her lips cover his with a fierce grip, which, after a moment, he found himself returning. Her hands found their way to his shirt, which she tore open with one savage move, moving across his bare chest and lightly scratching with her long fingernails. She released him from the kiss and tossed her head back to see the look of sheer want in his eyes. He lost control and grasped her with both hands, forcing her onto her back, kissing her lips, then down to her neck with a wild hunger that made her scream out with pleasure!   
  
Erik felt something wet as his hands passed over her bared chest and looked down in amazement to find that they were covered in blood.  
  
"What's the matter Erik?" she said, unaware of the blood.  
  
Erik darted off her quickly and looked back. The bed itself had begun to bleed and the Khanum was covered in it. "Come to me Erik," she beckoned with an outstretched hand.  
  
Erik screamed and tried to run, but it was no use, he could not seem to go anywhere. His feet seemed to be nailed to the floor! A wave of blood rushed towards him and all he could see was red. He could not breathe!  
  
Erik awoke with a terrified scream in the silent night air. His breath came so hard that the pain in his chest was crushing him. Sweat stung his eyes and he leapt out of bed to run to the balcony. He hung his head over the edge as he let the nausea overtake him until he could do no more. He stayed out there for a few minutes until his breathing calmed. Why had he dreamed such an awful thing? He could remember how he felt when she started touching him. Oh, how he wanted her. He looked down at his trousers in embarrassment at what had most obviously been the result of that want.   
  
Erik entered his bedchamber once more and changed into fresh clothing that wasn't drenched in his nightmare sweat and rubbed a cool cloth over his face before returning to sleep. Why did she consume his thoughts so? Never in his life had he felt so completely vulnerable. That woman seemed to be some sort of psychic genie who could read his thoughts and find exactly what drove him.  
  
Luciana had never caused him to have these impure thoughts. No, that had been innocent. As tragically as it ended, his first crush had never given him the desire to do more than gaze at her beauty in hopes for the reciprocation of the same feelings. Perhaps his adolescent youth had been a little too innocent. From his time with the gypsies he had repressed his feelings of love and physical desire with a cold iron rod that left no room for anything but his drive to create and survive. And that was just what he had done, up until a week ago.  
  
The next morning Erik resumed his work on the torture chamber. He had the measurements figured just right. It had to be absolutely correct or there could be disastrous consequences for the viewers of the deaths. Not necessarily for the victims, for they were certain to meet their end either way, but if the glass pieces did not fit precisely, it could cause a ruptured explosion from the heated air inside. Erik had to work carefully and be very careful as he cut the glass pieces to fit the outer frame. He was making good progress and was well into the middle of the hot afternoon before the Shah's head manservant interrupted him.  
  
"The Glory of the Empire wishes to see you in the main courtyard immediately," the man said, bowing deeply to Erik.  
  
Erik looked up after a moment, controlling his fury at being interrupted. The poor man had obviously not had a single thought of his own since he began his service in the empire. He had continued to bow, waiting for some semblance of a response from him.  
  
"Tell the 'King of Kings' that if he wishes to demand my time today, he will have to take it up with his mother. I cannot be in a hundred places at once," Erik said contemptuously.   
  
The man's jaw dropped to the ground, too stunned to know how to react. When Erik went back to his work without another word, he bowed and backed away from the strange masked magician to bring the fearful news to his benefactor.  
  
"What?" demanded the young Shah.   
  
The servant inched away on the floor before the royal throne of his ruler. "Oh, Glory of the Earth, I beg forgiveness but he simply would not come."  
  
"He did, did he?" the shah said with controlled fury. "We shall see about that!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This is mine! All mine! You can't have it! Hahhahhaaaaaaaaa!  
  
Just kidding! None of this stuff belongs to me, don't flame or blame me of stealing.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Mother!" the young Shah's voice rang through the courtyard as he stormed to her quarters, his servants scrambling to follow.  
  
The Khanum casually walked to her balcony to glance down at her son, who stood fuming below her, "My, my," she defended, "What on earth could you be shouting about now?"  
  
"Mother, I demand to know why you have kept Erik from my services!" he yelled angrily.  
  
"Your services?" she retorted, "Might I remind you that I summoned him from Russia for MY purposes, and not yours!"  
  
"Yes, but I have commissioned him to re-build the old palace, a task, might I remind you, that requires his presence more than one day a month!"  
  
"I have matters he attends to that are of a personal nature, and besides, the servants can do most of the building, he is merely overseeing the project anyway."  
  
The shah, now confused by his mother's defense, "What do you mean of a personal nature?"  
  
"Simply, my son, that I require him to keep me entertained, which is the sole purpose for his being here in the first place," she said coolly.   
  
The young shah bit his lip before saying anything that might anger his mother further. "I do require his assistance in a personal matter of my own. I should expect you to understand that he is not here ONLY for your use."  
  
The Khanum raised an arched eyebrow, "Really? Do explain."  
  
"Against the advice of my grand vazir, I have decided that he shall attend political meetings in the council room. His knowledge of other countries and matters of government may be of use to me," he said.  
  
The Khanum scoffed at this idea, throwing her head back, "Mirza Taqui Khan will not accept it. You know that man has contempt for the supernatural, and our mystical friend is no less a sorcerer than a devil."  
  
"That may be, but I am truly curious to find the extent his knowledge may serve the kingdom."  
  
She nodded slowly to him and he bowed deeply to her before leaving her presence.  
  
  
  
  
Erik leaned back on his pile of cushions admiring the beautiful edifice that he had created. A truly incredible masterpiece, however morbid it's intent may be. The whole chamber was constructed of two hexagonal mirrored sections, the smaller one fitted inside the larger of the two. The inner hexagon was lined with two sided mirrors while on the outer ring, there were regular thick mirrors. The arched ceiling of the chamber was designed of two way mirrors, facing in so that the viewer could gaze upon the victim trapped inside and they could still see only their own reflection. When activated, the heating lights were started, causing the temperature to rise. In between these two cavities were automatons of the most horrific creatures and scenes. The inner chamber spun counterclockwise, triggering flashes of light to shine on the automatons that resided in between the two rings of mirrors. When the victim fell susceptible to hallucinations from the heat, the flashes of the horrors would be revealed through the two-way mirrored panels. The victims had the option to commit suicide, utilizing the hangman's noose that hung from the iron tree, which stood in a corner of the inner chamber. The victim would die, surrounded by his image reflected to infinity in the heated looking glass.  
  
Erik was rather pleased with the final design and a sick and twisted thought crossed his mind when he thought that he could not wait to see how well it worked.  
  
His thoughts turned to Nadir with guilt. What would he think of such a barbaric device? Nadir had been the only person who had treated him as a friend, no matter how odd the friendship may be. Only half of Erik's conscious was dead to him now, and he still could not help feeling a sense of dread at the promised result of his creation.  
  
He looked up as he saw that the Eunuchs had come to move the finished chamber on it's wheeled platform to the Khanum's courtyard. One of them approached him warily. Erik did not bother to rise and greet him. As sickening as the thought of slavery was to him, he had already become accustomed to being attended to by the palace servants.  
  
The Eunuch bowed deeply and said, "The Shadow of God requests that you join him in his council chamber immediately," he paused then added, "And the request of the Khanum herself that you attend."  
  
Erik felt the blood drain from his face and his pulse begin to race at the Khanum's name. "Who else is to attend?" he demanded of the man before him.  
  
"I do not know, master. Will that be all?"  
  
Erik waved him away, and tried to get a grip on his thoughts as he smoothed out his clothing with sweaty palms. They had requested that he join them immediately. He wondered with a slight tremor what they could want from him. He made his way through the palace, his thoughts and feelings awry. When he approached the door to the council room, he almost ran away. Did the Shah know something about what had transpired between he and his mother?   
  
Erik signaled for the Eunuch guard to open the door. He strode in with more confidence than he felt, not waiting to be announced. There sat the young Shah, and across from him, the Khanum herself. Erik froze where he stood at seeing her there. Never before had she attended a private meeting, although it was well known that she had the final say in anything her son conducted. She smiled slyly and winked at Erik as he sat across from her. A passing palace cat that had wandered by was suddenly in Erik's nervous grasp and he began to stroke the feline with a vigor that made the cat clench her paws into his leg.  
  
The Shah noticed this, but said nothing, "Let's get down to business shall we?"  
  
Erik's fears were calmed when they began a rather boring discussion of the palace construction and how they were to divide his time between them, however, his nerves had never felt more frayed. The Khanum sat silently across from him. With every glance, all he could see was her face covered in the blood from his dream and the way he felt when he had ravished her body in his mind. Her very mannerisms repulsed him when he remembered her touching his most private area in a dishonorable fashion, but he could not help but stare at her bosom and the way her hips curved into a sensual line down to her...  
  
"Erik!" the Shah shook him out of his reverie. "Have you been listening?"  
  
"Yes," Erik sighed with relief. If the Shah had seen him staring at his mother that way, God knows what he would have done to him.   
  
The Khanum smiled to herself as she leaned forward enough to reveal the upper curve of her breast through her gown. Her plan was working and she knew it by the way she saw Erik stare out of the corner of her eye. Soon, she thought. Her plan would be complete and she would have him right where she wanted him.  
  
The meeting came to an end and Erik rose with some difficulty. He really needed to see a masseuse for all the strain his tense muscles had been under lately. He vanished from the room as quickly as possible. He knew she would not dare try anything in front of the Shah, but he was not going to give her the chance to corner him or demand a private audience. Only when he had returned to his quarters could he lean against the wall and relax.   
  
  
  
  
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	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: This is the author of this phiction speaking. Please don't accuse me of stealing this idea. It is merely based upon another wonderful writer's work.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Nadir entered Erik's quarters cautiously. Lately he had been more uptight than usual and he intended to find out why. Erik jumped when he turned to see Nadir standing in the doorway, unannounced.   
  
"Erik, you certainly are on edge lately. What has been bothering you."  
  
Erik waved his hand and turned away, "Damn what bothers me," he said as he turned back to his work.  
  
"Erik, I'm not going to let this matter go! Now tell me what has been going on around here lately! You're walking on eggshells whenever the Shah or Khanum is even mentioned and you disappear as soon as anybody from the royal family comes in sight! Now tell me why!" Nadir demanded, refusing to be ignored.  
  
"Nadir, I wouldn't tell you if I could!"  
  
"And why can't you? You seem very capable of telling me anything else."  
  
"Not this time," Erik replied thoughtfully. "Not this time."  
  
"Erik..."  
  
"For God's sake! Let it rest! Don't you know when to let something go?" Erik shouted angrily.  
  
Nadir eyed him narrowly, "Of course, as you wish."  
  
Erik let his tense shoulders drop, secretly wishing he could tell him everything. Hoping for some semblance of explanation to the Khanum's strange behavior and to his reoccurring nightmares.  
  
Nadir sensed his resignation and changed the subject. "How is the construction of your," he hesitated, "project going."  
  
"Finished," Erik replied with an air of satisfaction. "Would you care to see it?"  
  
Nadir felt in his stomach a sense of ill will, but nodded his head and followed Erik to the courtyard where the chamber had been moved. They entered the ivy-covered walls after Erik explained to the guards that he needed to make a modification to the device before it's initial use.  
  
Nadir stared at the chamber, trying to imagine what could be so horrible about a mirrored box. Erik opened the panel on the backside of the large chamber and then opened the conjoining door to the inner chamber. Sunlight flooded the room through the two-side mirrored roof, causing a blinding prism of light that they both had to shield their eyes from.  
  
"How does it work?" Nadir asked Erik as he ran his hand over the sun-warmed glass.  
  
Erik went into a detailed description of the process of torture. With each word the expression on Nadir's face turned into a grimace as he imagined the torture in his head. When Erik was finished with his explanation, he looked up at Nadir and caught the look that was now etched horribly onto his face. Erik fell silent and felt remorse as he realized how it may seem to someone who did not look at such a thing as merely a scientific experiment in psychological and physical endurance.   
  
"I know how horrible it must seem..." Erik began.  
  
"It IS very horrible, Erik. How could you possible conceive such a monstrous thing? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to give such a powerful person a tool such as this to use at her will?" he hushed his voice and continued, "The Khanum will use this device against anyone she sees fit! She does not care who lives and who dies and her lust for blood will continue until she is dead. I've seen it myself!"  
  
Erik hissed through clenched teeth and advanced on Nadir, causing him to back into the corner where the noose hung, "I do not care, Nadir! I do not care who should live or die in this contraption! As far as I'm concerned, the whole bloody world can kill themselves in it!"  
  
"You don't really mean that Erik," Nadir defended.  
  
"Oh no?" Erik leaned in even further until Nadir's head hit the glass wall causing a tremor in the reflection, "I've seen more horrible things than you can ever imagine. I've seen tortures that most men could not dream of witnessing in Hell itself. And there is one more thing," he paused and tore off his mask, "I have had to live with this for my entire life! Do you think that for one single, solitary moment of it, I have cared about any of the humans who have made my life a living Hell?"  
  
Nadir shook his head furiously, "But you must feel something other than hatred for at least a few of mankind."  
  
"How can you suspect anything of the sort?"  
  
Nadir calmed and gently pushed Erik away, "Because you do not hate me."  
  
Erik sighed harshly, "No Nadir, I do not hate you. But if you will forgive me this last remark, I believe you can go hang yourself!" Erik said, flipping the noose into his face before storming out of the open chamber door.  
  
"Erik!" A voice rang down into the courtyard from the balcony above.   
  
Erik stopped in his tracks, gripping his fist tightly and grinding his teeth. He was not in the mood for any of the Khanum's games today. He turned briskly on his heel to face the woman towering over him.  
  
"You beckoned me, Madame?" Erik seethed angrily.  
  
Her cunning smile faded from her face in a moment's time and she replied, "How dare you address me in that tone of voice you little demon! Come to my room at once!"  
  
Erik did not wait a single moment and stormed up the winding marble stairway to her room. He was definitely not in the mood to deal with her temper and was actually in the mood for a good solid fight.  
  
"What?" he demanded.  
  
"Well, well, well aren't we feisty today!" the Khanum glared at him as she nonchalantly dabbed some perfume behind her ears.  
  
"You called and I came, what do you want from me?"  
  
The Khanum studiously ignored him and wandered around her room, enjoying the electrifying feel of the tension that built itself in her silence.  
  
"If you won't answer me, then I will suppose I have to..."  
  
She cut him off, "The reason, you ungrateful wretch, that I called you, was to thank you for completing the device I requested of you. You shall be rewarded accordingly!"  
  
"Is that all?"  
  
"No, I would also like you to attend tomorrow at noon for the ceremony of its first victim. Naturally for such an occasion, we were required to find a rather special 'guest' in order to honor your creation," she explained.  
  
"And who shall be the lucky guest of honor?" Erik asked.  
  
"His name is Alkhir Fhacaad, a rather wealthy enemy and traitor to the kingdom. Apparently he murdered two of my third cousins as they were traveling along the coast."  
  
"Has this man had a trial?" Erik asked with a pale curiosity.  
  
"No," she grinned with a satisfaction that showed she did not intend he would have one and that she did not care.   
  
"You unlawful Bitch!" Erik spat at her. "Every man deserves a trial for his crimes."  
  
The Khanum strode towards him suddenly, "Even the ones you kill? Even the hopeless beings whose blood you spill nearly daily on the dirt of this very palace? How many others have you killed without a second thought?"  
  
Erik retorted with blood swimming in his eyes, "Every man I have ever killed has been out of self-defense! Every man whose blood I have spilled, has been in some semblance of combat, whether provoked or not!"  
  
"And is that your pitiful justification for the bloodlust that you and I share? Yes! I admit that I love to see the life dying away from a man's eyes as I bury a knife to the hilt in their soft bodies. I enjoy the rush of exhilaration as I take away the very thing that they hold dearest to them knowing that there is nothing they can do to stop it! Yes, I know all too well the feeling that comes from taking a life, whether justified or not, so do not stand there and tell me that you do not feel the very same thing because I can see it in your eyes!"  
  
Erik stared dumbly at her, feeling the pulse of his blood rushing through his hot brain, waiting for her to continue. He would not break his gaze and let her win! He would not admit defeat!  
  
"I know all of this you see, and that is why I knew you would create something as horrific as that beautiful machine right down there," she gestured towards the window.  
  
Erik finally spoke and when he did, even the Khanum could not repress a shiver at the sound of his voice, "You severely misjudge me Madame!" And with that he turned to leave her staring after him with a feeling of intense delight.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Like it? Want more? One little word can make that happen! REVIEW!!! Pleeeeeeease!!! 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't claim to own it. Nope. Nada. Zip. Zilch. But I do owe a thanks to Lisa who helped me with ideas for this chapter! Smooches!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Erik did not sleep a single wink that entire night after his little chat with the Khanum. He paced back and forth in the irritating silence of his bedchambers, wishing for some sort of cataclysmic interruption to break the quiet. He threw things across the room in frustration, hoping that the noise would quiet his thoughts. Nadir's words bored into the back of his head, as did the memory of his face as he envisioned the torture chamber in full swing.   
  
He looked out the window. It was nearly daybreak. At noon, Alkhir Fhacaad, would be brought out into the courtyard, humiliated, pelted with rubbish and filth, and then loaded into the mirrored room where he would suffer for many hours before choosing to take his life in the hangman's noose.  
  
Erik kicked at a pillow that had fallen off the bed. "What do I care?" he said out loud to himself. "So what if he should die. Everyone deserves to die sometime!"  
  
With every thought, Erik tried to berate himself into believing that he was not responsible for the executions that would take place in that machine, but the Khanum had a way with words. It was as if her reptilian eyes could see his soul's deepest and darkest secrets. So deep that he himself did not realize them until she put them before his very eyes. At a length, he dropped down on the divan, exhausted from his inner fight to deny what she had said about him, and accepted the fact; He enjoyed killing.  
  
Yes, he realized, he did enjoy taking a man's life, if only to revenge himself upon mankind for the fate of his face. He so hated everyone else for living normal lives that when he killed, to him it was a sort of consolation prize. Murder was his escape, his vent to the frustrations of his life.   
  
But now he would not be the one doing the killing. That chamber, which lie so forlornly in the courtyard, one might mistake it for a strange enclosed gazebo, would be the murderer from now on. The man, who makes a pistol, is not responsible for who is shot by it. With this sudden realization, he threw his mask up into the air, laughing. The Khanum was a fool. Because she would forever be entertained by pieces of glass and steel killing people with stifling heat, she would no longer require him to entertain her with his skills in battle. He was free at last!   
  
With this happy thought, he retrieve the mask from where it had fallen but with a thought, put it on the table and set about making a new mask to wear. He had to look his best for the ceremony.  
  
  
  
  
Erik appeared in the doorway of the Khanum's chamber with a newfound confidence in himself. His new black mask shined in the sunlight that had begun to pour itself in through the latticework windows. The expression on his new false face was one of malice and evil. He donned his magician's performance cloak and a special tunic of red silk for the occasion.   
  
"Ah," she exclaimed, "Don't we look dashing in our new attire. I trust you are well prepared for the execution today."  
  
Erik bowed mockingly, grinning behind his mask, "Of course, Madame."  
  
"Good. But before the spectator's congest my courtyard, I should like to see the chamber myself."  
  
"You wish for a private viewing then?" Erik asked optimistically.  
  
"Yes. Show me how it works."  
  
Erik could not have hoped for a better situation, "After you," he gestured for her to go and he would follow.  
  
The Khanum stood outside the mechanism, eyeing it suspiciously. "You call this contraption a torture chamber?" she said contemptuously after banging on it experimentally with her beaded fist.  
  
"Yes," Erik said, wishing he could bind her hands so she could not touch it again.  
  
"It hardly looks impressive to me."  
  
"Really? Last night you were calling it a marvelous machine, if I do remember correctly," Erik retorted.  
  
"Well, one can hardly see properly in the dark."  
  
Erik gritted his teeth together and took a deep breath to suppress his anger. He opened the door on the side for her to see. "You see, the victim is put into the center ring of the chamber, then the door is locked and sealed to assure that no heat escapes. Then this lever is pulled to begin the revolving of the inner and outer chambers. The automat..."  
  
She stared at him dumbly.  
  
"You don't understand do you?" Erik asked impatiently.  
  
She huffed, "Of course I understand! In fact, I'll just see for myself!" With that she stepped inside the chamber and looked around at the reflecting glass walls that all showed her image and the iron tree standing in the corner.  
  
Erik watched her eyeing the inner chamber with the scrutinizing gaze of an incompetent.   
  
"It probably doesn't even work!" she said smartly, flipping the noose aside with her hand.  
  
A cold memory from somewhere in his past screamed at him and he suddenly snapped. He lunged at the chamber door, just as she was about to exit it, shutting it in her face. He heard her angry shouts echoing in the room as her fists pounded on the glass door.  
  
"Let me out you little demon! I'll have your head for this! Let me out!" she howled.  
  
He stood outside, smiling intensely and pondering, "Do I let her out or keep her in there for awhile?" He shrugged his shoulders and called back to her, "You said you wanted to see how it works! Let me give you a proper demonstration!"  
  
And with that, he flipped the center lever down and presently heard the cranking of the gears as they started the rotation and heat. He heard a great thump as she lost her balance, no doubt crashing into the far wall as the dizzying affect of the spinning glass set in quickly.  
  
Erik pulled the second lever and waited for the screams to begin. Right on cue, he heard her start to scream for help, randomly banging on the walls of the rotating glass, now unsure of where the door had been. Erik knew exactly what she saw. First it would be the decapitated monkey, second the disemboweled man, followed by a short procession of other disgustingly tasteless images come to life. After only a moment, her screams shortened to little yelps of surprise and choking sobs to be let out.   
  
Erik waited a few more moments before returning the levers to their resting position. When the inner chamber came to a halt, he reached up and opened the door to let her out, but only a small crack. He walked away from the courtyard before she could come to her senses enough emerge. He knew in the back of his mind the penalty that awaited him for such an outrage against her but strangely, he did not care. It had been well worth it to hear her plead for help.   
  
  
  
  
At eleven thirty, he appeared in all his grandeur in the courtyard. The crowd that had gathered to witness the execution of the first victim in the torture chamber threatened to suffocate the small space. There were people on the rooftops, hanging over banisters and out windows. Erik made his way through the tight crowd, which amazingly enough, parted quite far to let him through. His eyes trailed nervously up to the Khanum's balcony. She had not yet appeared.   
  
Before the main attraction began, there were jugglers and fire-eaters to entertain the crowd, as well as the pre-tortures of several other prisoners who would follow Alkhir Fhacaad. At long last, Erik looked at his pocket watch and saw that noon had come. He heard the drums from the guards as they marched Alkhir into the arena in shackles. The poor man looked half dead already. He could hardly walk on his own, Erik noted, as they had beaten him severely in the prison. Erik looked up when he heard the crowd cheer. The Khanum had appeared, veiled and surrounded by her servant girls, on her private balcony. She raised her hand to silence the crowd and delivered a speech, which Erik was not concentrating on. Although she spoke to the crowd, she stared directly at him the entire time, making him very glad for the presence of his bodyguards.  
  
When she was finished, Erik grandly gestured for the man to be escorted into the chamber. He turned to the crowd and began to weave a Romany spell, then fire spouted from his bare hands and with a flourish, he produced a black raven seemingly from thin air. The crowd hushed in awe and fear at the sure sign of death in the hands of the Khanum's favored servant.   
  
Erik held his hand up to quiet everyone as he slowly made his way to the side of the chamber that held the control levers. The Khanum waited tensely for him to pull the first switch, as she watched Alkhir Fhacaad through the glass rooftop of the chamber. Erik raised his arms high above his head and very suddenly clapped his hands together. In a bright explosion of sparks and smoke, he disappeared into thin air!  
  
After a moment of shock, a hushed murmur ran through the crowd and the Khanum lowered her slit eyes and clenched her hands on the balcony in sheer anger. Her servant down below looked up at her for guidance and she nodded only once for him to pull the switch on the chamber. She did not stay to watch. Her need for vengeful wrath was too great to enjoy the entertainment now. Erik had privately and now publicly humiliated her and his disobedience would not go unpunished! 


	7. Chapter 7

Ahhh finally! Chapter seven! Sorry it took me so long, but I had finals! This is a little short, but chapter eight will be up very soon, I promise! Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Nadir ran feverishly through the great halls to Erik's apartment. His breath came in hoarse gasps as he ran from the marketplace where he heard from one of his trusted servants what Erik had just done. He burst through the doors to Erik's apartment, shocked to register that he has not encountered one single guard upon his entry. Surely the Khanum would not stand for such defiance and his life was to he quickly extinguished.  
  
"What have you done?" Nadir choked out as he caught his breath from his recent sweaty flight.  
  
Erik stood solemnly in front of the open window, staring out into the courtyard. He inclined his head slightly in Nadir's direction but did not look at him. He sighed and his silence professed his refusal to answer.  
  
"Erik! Get away from that window immediately!" Nadir demanded as he gripped his arm, yanking him back. Erik flailed his arms to gather balance as he stumbled down the steps to the bedchamber. He pulled his arm from Nadir's vise-like grip and straightened his tunic, smoothing out the wrinkles in a relaxed nonchalant way. Nadir stared at him incredulously wondering if Erik had finally lost his mind. If he had any sense in his brain at all he should be well on his way of leaving the country by now, rather than sitting around the palace as if he wished to be put to death for his heinous crime.   
  
Again, Nadir repeated his question, this time slowly. "Erik, what have you done?"  
  
"I don't know what you mean," Erik replied with a hint of a smile in his voice.  
  
"Erik, have you lost your mind?"  
  
Erik sarcastically ran his hands through his hair and replied, "Seems to be all here, Nadir."  
  
Nadir started wide eyed at his odd companion, "Erik, do you even know what they will do to you after you humiliated the Khanum as you did today? She will want your head for this and Allah knows what will happen to the rest of your body."  
  
"As for my head, I'm certain it will make a magnificent trophy for her, but the rest of my body will not be such a loss," Erik replied as he started to tinker with a small sparking device he had been working on. He collapsed onto a pile of cushions on the floor and gave a deep sigh.  
  
Nadir recognized what was wrong with him now. He was entirely too relaxed given his recent dangerous display of defiance on the mother of the living shah of Persia. Even Erik in his most suicidal moment would never let his guard drop this far unless otherwise influenced. His eyes darted around the room and found the opium pipe lying next to an empty poppy-cake bag. He looked at Erik's eyes more closely to see that they were dilated completely.   
  
Nadir picked up the pipe in one hand and stared at it, "Why Erik? Why are you behaving as though you did not care whether you lived or died?"  
  
"Perhaps I do not," he argued calmly.  
  
"Come with me Erik, I beg of you," Nadir gestured towards the door. "You can hide with me until we can get you out of the country."  
  
"What makes you think I want to leave?" Erik said, making no move to leave.  
  
"If you had any hold on your senses right now you would have already left!" Nadir made an exasperated sound as he realized that if he were determined to save his friends life, he would have to take him away. If the Khanum's guards took hold of him now under the influence of the potent drug, he would be no match for them, should he even choose to fight. Nadir went about the apartment quickly gathering a few articles of clothing and valuables. Erik curiously watched him move around the room.   
  
Nadir looked up at him with an armful of his belongings and said, "Erik, please, I beg of you to leave with me now."  
  
Erik shrugged his shoulders and rose up slowly from his comfortable bed on the floor and made his way gracefully across the room where Nadir waited by the door.   
  
"If I knew any better, I'd say that Allah had some hand in your fate my friend. It's a wonder the Khanum didn't have you killed hours ago." He held open the door for Erik to pass into the hallway. Nadir breathed nervously as he made his way through the corridor.   
  
  
  
  
"Where is he?" the Khanum slammed down her glass of wine, spilling it onto the fine ivory tablecloth.   
  
"I beg your forgiveness My Lady, but he is nowhere to be found," stammered a servant from his humble position on the floor.   
  
She threw the glass at her servant, shattering it on the floor in front of him. "What do you mean he is nowhere to be found? I want every available man in this damned country looking for him. He can't have just vanished into thin air!"  
  
"Please Madame, it has only been three hours since you issued the search," pleaded the man at her feet.  
  
"I don't want excuses! I want him to be found and punished accordingly!"  
  
"Yes Madame. We will find him."  
  
She dismissed all her servants wanting to brood in the silence they left behind. A large array of emotions coursed through her body from humiliation to blood-boiling rage, but most of all the need for revenge. Erik needed to be punished; he needed to suffer.  
  
She needed something fitting to make him suffer for what he had done to her. Nobody made a fool of her!  
  
  
  
  
Several hours and many strong pots of coffee later Erik sat in Nadir's parlor quietly. Nadir joined him followed by a servant carrying trays of food.   
  
"What I don't understand is why the Khanum's guards didn't go to your chambers to arrest you on the spot."  
  
Erik looked at him and sighed, "Nadir, do you honestly think that after what I did today that they would bother looking for me in my chambers? They must be combing the countryside looking in every stench-infested rat-hole this city has to offer."  
  
"Erik, don't you think you are over-weighing the odds that they still consider you enough of an asset to overlook today's misbehavior?"  
  
"Not necessarily. If the shah wants his palace built he will have to rely on me, for I am the only one who can sufficiently read the plans I've drawn up. He will have to overlook what his dear mother most certainly deserved."  
  
"Erik," Nadir asked cautiously, "What do you mean by deserved?"  
  
Erik grew quiet. He knew he had overstepped his bounds and there was no avoiding the subject any longer.  
  
"Erik, what did she do to you?" Nadir grew very quiet and waited for Erik to start his explanation.  
  
Erik drew in a deep breath and began to slowly explain the Khanum's behavior when they were alone in her chambers together. He explained the dream he had of her coming to his bed, then beginning to bleed in his hands. Nadir listened intently, trying to make some sense out of the jumbled descriptions of emotions and experiences that Erik, in his innocence of the matter, did not know how to better explain.  
  
When Erik finished his detailed story, ending with the events of the day and how he had wanted to make her suffer some indignation by his hand, neither of them said a word for quite some time. Nadir was speechless. Although her sadistic nature was well known through the kingdom, he had never had a better first-hand account of it than the one he had just heard.  
  
Nadir refilled the glasses set before them and went to hand one to Erik when a loud knock came at the front door. Erik's eyes flashed with momentary alarm and Nadir rose to answer the door. He turned to motion for Erik to hide when he heard the familiar sound of the Shahs armored horsemen outside, but by the time he looked, Erik was already nowhere to be seen.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sorry so short! Hope you enjoyed it! 


	8. Chapter 8

Grrrrr... The website caused my story to disappear, then it lost this chapter so here I am re-posting it...  
  
  
  
  
Once again I apologize for the delay in getting this next chapter out. Not to fear though, the end is within sight now. Be patient!  
  
  
  
  
  
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIVID VIOLENT DESCRIPTIONS.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Nadir stepped aside to accommodate for the search party that rudely shoved their way into his home.  
  
"We have come for the magician. We know he his here with you."  
  
Nadir did not know if he should say anything or not. He would help Erik as much as he possibly could, but only if he were free. If the guards arrested him now, he would have no chance of helping.  
  
"I don't know what you mean," Nadir lied.  
  
The man in charged surveyed the room and spied the two half empty glasses on the low table behind Nadir. He motioned for the four men standing to the side to search the household. They went through each room in the home, breaking articles and throwing furniture around in their search, all the while Nadir stood holding his ground with a strained look on his face. He feared for Erik and at the same time for himself. He would be executed for treason if Erik were found. He silently prayed to Allah that his magician friend could make himself disappear with the same skills he had proven so often before.  
  
"You know," the filthy guard started, "If you are found guilty of treason, I will be the one who has the pleasure of stretching your neck." He rounded Nadir in close proximity, scrutinizing the nervous daroga with a well-practiced glare. "Oh, and one other thing," he added, "All this that you claim to your name, will become mine, and I will become the Daroga of Mazanderan. So, you see, I am hoping that my suspicions are correct, that we will find the traitor here."  
  
Nadir breathed nervous shallow breaths, grimacing at the smell of the other man's rotting breath. He felt the sweat trickle annoyingly into his eyes but refused to break his taunt stance to wipe it away.  
  
Before Nadir could retort, one of the guards shouted outside, "Quick! He's getting away!"  
  
Nadir and the guard rushed outside in time to see Erik speeding away on a stolen horse. The guard quickly joined his companions on their horses to chase after, but not before he warned Nadir that he would be back for him.  
  
Nadir watched the group chase after Erik, leaving a choking trail of dust in the air behind them. He lost no time in gathering a few belongings and the money he possessed. He must flee before they came back. As he galloped away from his home, he looked back at the still lingering dust in the air with a twinge of guilt. As much has he hated to admit he could not leave Erik to the clutches of the Shah and his mother without forever feeling responsible for it. He slowed his horse to a stop and turned back. He had to help, but now he too was a wanted man and would have to go carefully. With that in mind, Nadir made his way into the underbrush of the countryside that led to the city. There he would be able to hide and find help in a few less than respectable places. As much as he hated to admit, he did possess connections with people that went against his grain of life.  
  
  
  
  
Erik turned to look behind him as he continued to urge the beast he rode to run faster. The horse had begun to tire and he could hear the hoof-beats closing in behind him. He felt badly that Nadir would have to suffer for being brought into the mess that he caused. He had shown him nothing but respect and friendship despite all that he had done. He wished in the back of his mind that he would be all right.   
  
Erik turned again to see how far back his pursuers were from him, when suddenly the horse beneath him jerked hard and fell to the ground. Stunned and unable to comprehend what had happened, Erik realized that his right leg was pinned beneath the horse's sweaty body. He pushed against the back of the animal to free himself, but was unable to move. The horse kicked and fought the unseen cause of the pain; It had lost it's footing on the uneven ground and now lay writhing in agony from the broken leg it suffered.  
  
Within moments, the sound of hoofs accompanied by the shouts of the men, echoed in his pounding head. Erik squinted to see the man who approached him and knelt beside his trapped body.  
  
"Well, well, well," the man said, "I do believe I will get my pension after all."  
  
With that, he felt a sharp pain on the side of his head and everything fell to black.  
  
  
  
  
The Khanum grinned feverishly as the servant told of Erik's capture. "Bring him to me now!" she ordered.  
  
"Yes, my lady," the eunuch replied as he bowed and exited her presence.  
  
She paced anxiously as she awaited his arrival. There was certainly one thing that she excelled in, and that was the art of torture. She had thought up a suitable punishment for her masked magician. Torture with common crude weapons would never suffice for she knew Erik's indifference to physical pain. She knew just what to do with him, and her jaw clenched tightly at the thought of the satisfaction she would have in making him suffer.  
  
She sat in a padded chair and waited, enjoying the electrifying tension she created for herself. She heard shouts coming nearer and chains being rattled. The door to her chamber burst open and the eunuch's scrambled to her side to protect her from the fury of Erik's struggle against his captors. His hands were bound in heavy iron shackles as well as his legs. Several large guards held his chains taunt, and although severely outnumbered, he was giving them a healthy fight. He jerked and shouted incomprehensible words at his captors much like a wild animal. The Khanum sat forward in her chair, her eyes wide with pleasure at seeing his tightly leashed fury let loose.   
  
She rose and stood before him, but out of reach. "Did you think that you would get away with such an outrage?" she hissed at him. He quieted down and stopped struggling to stare at her.  
  
"What? No answer?" she asked coyly.  
  
When she thought he was going to speak, he spit in her face. A guard punched him across the face, causing a spray of blood to fly onto the Khanum. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and sighed.   
  
"Pity, I was rather hoping you would have more to say."  
  
Erik stared at her with a loathing to kill an army. He gave a few more jerks on his chains, but the guards held fast.   
  
"Erik, why do you think I brought you back here?" she asked.  
  
He, of course, did not answer her.  
  
"Do you think it is to punish you?" she whispered. "Oh no, my friend. You are far to valuable to punish, according to my son."  
  
Erik swallowed the lump that had formed in his dry throat. He watched her pad barefooted across the marble floor. He had seen her fluid grace before, reminding him of a snake hunting prey, and it could only mean one thing; she was going to do something unbelievably worse than anything his mind could conceive.  
  
He watched the Khanum draw back the curtain to the adjoining room and with a beckoning hand, gestured for someone inside. Erik saw the Khanum's personal bodyguards drag out three young girls bound by ropes. They could not have been more than thirteen.  
  
Erik's battered mind tried to comprehend what she was going to do with these girls. The Khanum watched his face as he stared confused at the girls and smiled.  
  
"Did I not explain to you that you were to be rewarded for a job well done on the torture chamber?"  
  
He stared at her, utterly perplexed.  
  
"A reward is a reward, is it not? I see you do not understand our little prize," the Khanum rounded him slowly. "You see, these girls are my gift to you. I know that deep down you desire females much more than you care to admit, and so I honor you with these three."  
  
She gestured toward the girls who were roughly jerked towards him. They fell at his feet; their eyes wide in terror at seeing his unmasked and bloodied face. He tried to turn his head from them, but the Khanum grasped his neck and dug in her long fingernails, forcing him to stare back.  
  
"I know," she seethed into his ear, "that you desire girls, but more evident, is that you love to humiliate and you love to kill." She moved to his other ear. "And to assure that you do precisely that, I'm going to let my men help you accomplish it."  
  
She nodded and stepped back as the men who held his chains grabbed his wrists and forced a knife into his hand. He tried to drop it, but the guard's vice-like grip around his hand was overpowering.  
  
"Hold him tightly, make certain he doesn't get away!" she ordered them.  
  
Erik pushed against them but they dragged him forward toward the first petrified girl. They had started to wail and scream in terror, huddled together on the cold stone floor.  
  
Erik ceased to struggle; it was no use. There were too many strong hands on him and the sound of the screams seemed to paralyze his brain. He saw his hand wielding the knife, forced towards the first of the girls. The sharp blade cut away her clothing. He felt them rubbing his body onto hers and suddenly found the other two girls stripped of their sheer clothing as well. Erik felt sweaty arms pushing his body against theirs as he watched the girls struggle to free themselves from the death-like hold the other men had on them. Erik saw the guards' faces, laughing and jeering into his as they forced his knife to cut the girls one by one. The floor was soon slippery with their blood, causing them to fall to the floor in front of him. One of the men shoved Erik to the floor with them and actually picked up a girl and threw her on top of him.  
  
She fell face to face with Erik and the panicked screams began with renewed strength. She bit and clawed at him as he tried to free himself from the tangle of bloodied children's arms and chains. He felt a fist grab hold of his wrist. Just as he realized he still gripped the knife in his hands, he felt it shove upward towards the chest of the child on top of him. Her face contorted and she fell limply on top of him. He dimly felt his arm being raised and driven down into the girl by his side, over and over again.   
  
After what seemed like an eternity, he realized that the room had gone silent, aside from the snickering of the men who stood around him. He thought to look for the knife and realized they had taken it from him already. The three girls' bodies were pulled aside and he now lay in a pool of sticky blood. The Khanum now looked down at him with a venomous gaze. He suddenly did not have the power to breathe under her stare. She knelt down by his side and all he could seem to do was stare at a splatter of blood that had found it's way to her white linen gown.   
  
"Did you enjoy your reward?" she whispered to him. "Let this be a reminder the next time you choose to exceed your pathetic commission in my country. The three girls were suitable for the times you crossed me. For when you locked me in that chamber of yours, for your disappearance, and finally for choosing to run away."  
  
She stood slowly and wiped a drop of blood from the back of her hand, licking it clean. As she turned to leave she leaned over her shoulder and said, "Oh, and by the way, I'll have to owe you one for spitting in my face. I trust you look forward to it."  
  
Erik dimly felt himself being lifted to his feet and dragged back to his chambers where they threw him to the ground. He looked down at his bloodied hands after the men had left and tried desperately to shut out the things he had seen, the things they had made him do. As he frantically stripped of his tattered clothing and began to wash himself clean in the basin of the bath, he began to weep uncontrollably.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
LIKE IT? HATE IT? PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW. I PROMISE MORE TO COME SOON AND WHO KNOWS HOW IT WILL END ... 


	9. Chapter 9

At long last the next chapter installment of this monstrosity!!! I hope you all enjoy it and I promise I will not wait so long to finish this off! One more chapter to go after this one! Muahahahahaaaaaaa!  
  
  
  
Nadir sat in a creaking wicker chair in his friend's humble abode and listened intently to his spy servant's tale.  
  
"They say he doesn't threaten anymore or even make any sudden movements," the servant explained.  
  
"Hmmm," Nadir thought. This had him fairly worried. Erik was always on edge, unless he was severely drugged with morphine or opium. Even then, he still managed to keep some sort of a guard up.  
  
Nadir had gone into hiding. His possessions and his home had been invaded by the guards and ransacked. Everything he owned had been lost due to harboring a traitor. He had been hiding out with some less than honest acquaintances of his that he knew he could trust if he made it worth their while. He invested the little wealth he had left that he had kept hidden to pay the spies at the work site of the new palace. He felt he owed his life to Erik. He had in fact allowed himself to be captured in order for him to escape. All debts must be paid.  
  
"Go on," he urged.  
  
"Well, he just goes about his work on building at the site, doesn't say a word to anyone, and doesn't seem to ever sleep," the man continued. "Its as though he's always off in some other place thinking. It makes the men even more wary of him than ever. They are afraid he might snap at any moment."  
  
"And what of the royal guard who watch him?"  
  
"They do not do much in the way of interfering. The Shah had ordered them that he is not to be bothered until the palace is completed and the construction has ceased," he paused for a moment and looked around to see if anyone was listening, "It is rumored that the moment the last nail is in place, he will be summoned to see the Shah and will be put to death for his insubordination."  
  
"How close is the construction to being finished?" Nadir demanded.  
  
"Should be any day now. I don't imagine there is much left to be finished."  
  
Nadir thanked the man and shook his hand, abruptly leaving the room. He dared not wait any longer. He knew in the back of his head that this would be the ending result of Erik's behavior over the past year of his commission, but given his present circumstances of having to hide from anyone working under the Shah, he could do nothing.  
  
  
  
Nadir made it to the new palace grounds a week later, having to duck the guards on the highway that stretched between the two cities. When he arrived, Erik was no longer there. He sneaked inside the palace walls to see that the construction had been completed and the few servants that remained were cleaning up the sawdust and refuse. While keeping to the shadows, he grabbed a man passing by with an armful of scrapwood and shoved him up against the wall.  
  
"Where is your work-master? Where is the masked magician Erik?" he demanded.  
  
"They took him," stammered the man who stared back at him confused. "A day or two ago, the royal guards came for him on a summons."  
  
"Tell me precisely what you saw and heard!" he demanded.  
  
"I had just finished gathering a load of scraps to take out to the burn pile when I saw the Shah's personal guards approach him on horseback. They announced that the Shah demanded to see him immediately and that he was to leave the site at once and come with them. He shrugged his shoulders and hopped onto the back of the horse that they tied between them."  
  
"Are you saying he didn't say anything or give any struggle?"  
  
"No, master. He just mounted and left with them without a word of protest. He seemed indifferent to anything since his last recess from building three months ago."  
  
Nadir shoved the man away in frustration, threatening not to tell of any of this encounter at the expense of a most painful death. The man stumbled away from this seemingly mad man.  
  
  
  
Nadir raced along the dusty road to the palace. He urged his horse faster, pushing the beast to it's breaking point, only stopping to water the animal. As he journeyed, he contemplated what he was doing. This man had caused him to lose everything he had, and yet he had this uncompromising desire to save his lost soul. He did see the good in Erik. Had he been born with a normal face, he could have been one of the greatest men in the world, rather than the most feared. Even he himself had had the experience of sheer terror in Erik's presence when he had been out of his mind and did not recognize the daroga, but beyond that he found him to be remarkably likable.  
  
Nadir saw the city lights in the distance at dusk and he slowed his pace, taking great care not to be recognized as he rode through the winding streets. With his cowl pulled far over his face, he made his way through the slums, until he came to a hovel, lit by a small lantern in the window. He had to make his preparations.  
  
  
  
Erik stood in the grand council room before the Shah and his mother. He casually glanced about the room, noting where the guards stood watch.  
  
"Erik, I am very pleased with the final results of the new palace. I shall look forward to moving the royal court there over the next few weeks," the shah said from his throne.  
  
"And for your continued service to my son and I, you shall be greatly rewarded," the Khanum added. She motioned with her hand for a guard to come forth.  
  
Erik immediately tensed, though he did not let them see that. The guard approached and stood before him. Erik, preparing to defend himself or flee, was genuinely confused when he dropped a small gold key in his hand.  
  
"What is this?" Erik inquired.  
  
"That would be the key to the treasure room. You may go there and fill that sack," the shah motioned towards the embroidered bag the guard also held out.  
  
"Then my commission here is finished?" Erik said optimistically.  
  
"Not quite," the Khanum replied, rising from her throne at the Shah's side. "There is one thing further that I require of you. But before I call upon you, please, feel free to collect your reward and gather your things in your quarters."  
  
Erik felt a chill run down his spine at the tone of her voice. It reminded him of the calm before a terrible devastating storm that was about to occur. He left the room, letting the guard walk in front of him down to the treasure hold. He prepared for any sudden attack. The treasure hold was heavily guarded, but they let him enter, collect his choice of diamonds, jewels, gold, and other fine items, and they never touched him.  
  
The guard escorted him back to his quarters and left. Erik was confused, expecting that he should have been attacked, but the Khanum and the Shah had obviously given orders that he not be touched. After all, she still had one thing more for him to do for her. His head pounded, wondering what that one thing could be, as he packed his belongings into a trunk to be loaded onto an awaiting horse in the courtyard.  
  
  
  
It was well past midnight when Nadir heard the warning horns being blown and shouts coming from within the palace. Men were running about in a frenzy, shouting orders to each other, and in all the confusion he slipped through the gates into the palace grounds. Mass panic had encompassed the entire place. Nadir knew something had happened, and by the look of it, it was not what was planned. Somehow, Erik had escaped his appointed fate that night. He raced through the palace corridors looking for his friend. There was no way Erik could escape without his help. There were too many people looking for him now.  
  
Nadir slipped through the door to Erik's quarters. The place had been destroyed by the guards. He knew of one place where they would not think to look. During Erik's stay in the palace, he had made a few alterations to his room, late at night. Erik had shown him once in confidence when he was drugged on morphine. Nadir approached a panel in the wall and pushed a gilded lizard that triggered the wall to swing open. Disappointment swept through him when he did not see Erik hiding in the small space, but then he looked down towards the floor of the space and saw that Erik had been very busy expanding his hiding place since he had shown it's location to him. Nadir climbed down the small ladder that dropped between the closings of the walls into a very cramped space and closed the door behind him. The climb down seemed to last forever and in the encompassing dark, he could not see where it ended. Finally his foot found solid ground when searching for the next step off the ladder. The moment he stepped off, he felt a cold hand clamp over his mouth.  
  
"Don't make a sound!" Erik whispered fiercely in his ear. He tugged on Nadir's shirtsleeve and guided him between the walls.  
  
"Where are you taking us? Where does this lead?" he asked.  
  
"Shhh!" Erik stopped moving and put his ear to the outer wall. "It should be safe to exit now. I think the guards have left to search elsewhere."  
  
Erik pushed the panel of wall and it swung silently out. Nadir stepped out to find himself standing in the perimeter gardens. Erik stepped cautiously about, looking for guards. He motioned for Nadir to follow him, but he shook his head and pulled Erik in the other direction. Erik followed his friend into the darkness to where they could see the palace wall. A man stood waiting with a lantern and two horses just outside the gate.  
  
They made their way across the yard, but before they could climb over the gate, Nadir felt the blade of a knife slice across his shoulder. He cried out into the night, feeling the blood begin to flow down his back. Fast as lightening, Erik rounded on the man who had come up behind them and lassoed his neck, snapping it neatly and dropping the guard to the ground in all of two seconds. He helped Nadir to his feet and helped him over the wall.  
  
As they rode away into the night, Nadir felt the wound throbbing and his very life slipping away from him. An hour later they were out of the city and riding towards the underbrush of the countryside. Erik stopped their horses by a stream to water them and tend to his weakening friend.  
  
After he helped Nadir off his mount, he began to dress his shoulder wound, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.  
  
"Why did you come back there for me?" Erik finally asked as he bandaged the wound with the torn hem of his cloak.  
  
"I felt I owed it to you. I knew they were going to kill you once the palace had been finished. Couldn't you know that?"  
  
"Yes I knew, but look," he motioned towards himself. "I'm still alive."  
  
Nadir stared incredulously at Erik, "How, Erik? What did you do?"  
  
Erik looked at him with an odd expression, then replied, "Something fitting." 


	10. Chapter 10 Epilogue

At long last! The final awaited chapter to The Khanum!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you all for your patience! I've been busy getting engaged and all so my writing has taken the back burner for quite long enough. I do apologize for the serious delay in finishing this story. Please review the chapter and the overall story if you would please. Reviews are greatly appreciated!!!!  
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The Khanum entered her private chambers alone. He usual entourage of lady servants eunuchs, and girls from the harem had apparently been dismissed. She paced quietly across her bedchambers, then jumped at the sound of Erik's voice which came from nowhere.  
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"Don't you think it unwise," his voice came from a darkened corner, "for a lady of your standing, to enter a room unattended?" Erik slipped out from the shadowed curtains of the window in which he sat waiting. "There could be dangerous assassins lurking about."  
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Angered by his willful deception of being in the room, she threw him a poisonous glance for having made her jump, to which he continued to stare at her calmly. "I see you still have not learned the proper way to address me," she said.  
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"I see you still have not learned that I address no one properly!" Erik replied contemptuously.  
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Choosing to ignore the last comment, she sat in her favorite chair, allowing him to stand waiting in her presence. His motionless body and heavy stare unnerved her slightly, causing her to remind herself that such inappropriate behavior should have been punished had it been done by anyone else.   
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But there was nobody to punish him now. And Erik knew this.  
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"You know Erik, you should consider yourself the luckiest man in this country to be alive still, after all the ways you have disobeyed me. Your refusal to follow protocol, your lack of respect of authority, all these are punishable by imprisonment and in other cases, death..."  
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"Yet I have not been punished," he cut her off. "Why make an acceptation for my life over that of others?"  
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To this she merely scoffed, "I suppose you think you are more valuable to me than others."  
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Erik did not answer.  
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"I can assure you that is most certainly not the reason for why you have been kept alive," she said dryly. "I made it quite clear when you first came to us that your services were merely to amuse me, however the means may be."  
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"Building a new palace for your son hardly constitutes amusement," Erik replied.  
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"Do not try to argue your case!" she snapped. "My son may be the ruling shah, but I am the one who runs this country and the purpose for you building the new palace was solely to keep his mind occupied while I took over political affairs. I did not think you could be so ingenues and so completely daft at the same time when it came to obvious matters!  
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Erik clenched his fists tightly and ground his teeth at that last remark. He took an advancing step towards the Khanum, who flinched slightly in her chair. Then suddenly, her attitude changed once more to the conniving, sly serpent he had witnessed many times before. She gracefully rose from her chair and walked across the room to look out across the courtyard, brushing past him with complete indifference to his threatening move.  
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Erik did not turn to look at her as she stood at the balcony window.  
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"You may have built my son a palace to live in, but your true marvel lies right down there," she gestured towards the silent dark chamber that lie below her chamber as Erik glanced over his shoulder towards her. "So simple and yet complex. It can take a life at the flip of a switch then return to the innocent state in which it now sits. It has no morals. Nothing to gain or lose. It does not take sides in a war. It simply exists to take life from those within."  
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Erik, now facing her, stood for a moment while she stood, now silent, staring into the ill-lit courtyard. "Madame, you requested me to come to your chambers for one last request. If you would please state it's purpose, I'll be on my way."  
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"Ahh yes," she started as though she had forgotten.   
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She reached up and pulled the curtains shut.   
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Erik took a step back.  
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"I know that after tonight, you will leave this place, never to return," she began.  
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Erik held his ground, wondering what she was getting at.  
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"And that it is quite possible that nobody from this country will ever see you again."  
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"Yes, that is true," Erik replied.  
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She turned to close the curtains on another window then turned to stare at him. "Take off your mask."  
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"Why? You've seen my face a thousand times before. It will be the same I assure you."  
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She stared harshly back at him with her cold eyes glowing. "Take off your mask."  
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The mask landed on the floor between them.  
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"What is it that you want from me?" Erik finally asked.  
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"I think you know what it is that I want from you. No man, however innocent, can be so naive not to know what I want from you." She walked past him, flipping her hair in his face as she slowly walked towards the bed.  
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"And if I give in? What then? I suppose you will kill me the moment you are satisfied," Erik said dryly.  
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"Perhaps," She smiled schemingly.  
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Erik started towards her slowly. His face expressionless.  
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"Would you truly deny me this one last request?" She coyly asked, untying the ribbon on the front of her blouse.  
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Erik was silent but kept moving towards her spot on the bed.  
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"You have never denied me before. And isn't this what you desire more than anything else? To feel the body of a woman trapped beneath yours in the heat of passion and pleasure? Surely, you would not deny yourself that. Not when I offer it to you freely," She continued to unlace her blouse, the left sleeve now dropping past her shoulder.  
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"Madame, what game is this you are playing?" Erik replied in a silky hushed tone.  
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"Game?" She responded as she dropped the other sleeve. "I don't know what you are talking about."  
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Erik inched in upon her, leaning forward on the bed. "Do you want this?" he gestured towards his face.  
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"Yes," she breathed.  
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"Do you truly want what you thought you could not have?"  
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"Yes."  
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His face was now scant inches from hers, his head tilting towards her shoulder, going in for a kiss. Her lips lifted up in anticipation to meet his. At the last moment, he turned his head to the side, placing his hands on her shoulders, guiding her to stand.  
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"How can you know what I want?"  
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She smiled at him. "I think I can tell." She dropped her blouse off of her body, letting it fall to the floor beside them. There she stood wearing only her thin crepe pantaloons and golden jewelry. She stepped backwards away from him slightly. "I know what all men want."  
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Erik advanced on her. "As you know I am not 'all men'."  
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She continued backing away, "Yes, but no matter the difference, all men desire the body of a woman. So in some ways, you are no different from other men. How else do you suppose my little game could have worked?" She backed into the balcony and stopped, waiting for him.  
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Erik moved to join her, pressing her body close to his then smothering her lips with his own. She fought his tongue with her own fiercely as he gained access to her mouth with his crushing pressure. She breathed heavily as his mouth moved towards her neck and his hands began to roam over her tanned skin.  
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Erik pressed his lips into her ear and whispered in a harsh tone. "No, Madame. You do not understand me. For if you had, you would know that I, of all men, do not play other people's games."  
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She looked at him, confused.  
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"I play my own." he grinned, twisting up the corners of his horrible mouth.  
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And with that, he gave one mighty shove and pushed her backwards over the balcony! Down she fell to the courtyard below, smashing through the glass roof of the torture chamber that lie just below her window. Erik stood for a moment watching her crumpled body start to bleed from the dozens of lacerations caused by the broken glass. When he saw her stir and try to get up, he calmly walked down the marble steps to where the chamber stood.   
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He heard a painful groan from inside the glass hexagon and called to her, "Well well well, this is the second time, I've trapped you in this ingenious device, isn't it. I must admit that this time is much more amusing. For me that is."  
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She listened to his voice echoing through the mirrored walls as she struggled to get to her feet. She winced in pain as she realized that her right leg had been broken in the fall. Her painful breath, a sure sign of several broken ribs.  
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"You see, when I agreed to come to this godforsaken country, it was for MY amusement, not to satisfy the vain and stupid whims of the ruling shah and his wicked mother. I know you have been playing a game of cat and mouse with me, but the amusing illusion is that all this time, it has been I who was playing the cat, while you and your son, have been my evening meal of minced mouse."  
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Erik began to round the chamber, touching it's smooth metal surface.  
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"When you said that this device was my true marvel, you couldn't be more correct. You asked me to build something that would create amusing deaths. Since I care nothing for the amusement of others, I designed it to entertain me and myself alone. And you, Madame, have the honor of being it's one and only victim."  
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Erik heard her moan from inside, as though she were now truly baffled.  
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"I see you do not understand. Yes, many have died inside this wonderful contraption, but nobody has yet died by its true weapon!" He shouted to her.  
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And with that, he lifted a hidden panel on the opposite side of the chamber's lever control board to reveal a secret lever in the shape of a scorpion. He lifted the scorpion's black tail then lowered it again when he heard the gears inside the machine start to turn.  
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Inside the inner circle of the chamber's two, the floor began to spin, slow at first, then faster and faster until the Khanum was thrown to the floor in the center.  
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Erik stood outside and watched as his master creation began its first and last performance. A perfect victim for the perfect killing machine.  
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The outer shell of the chamber began to open up like a black metal flower in bloom, it's petals splitting at the top and lowering to the ground. As the chamber walls came to rest on the ground, the inner chamber floor began to spin faster, leaving only a small circle in the center stationary. It was on this circle of reflective glass that the Khanum sat, fearing to be slammed into the walls if she dared try to cross the spinning surface of the floor.  
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Erik heard the increasing whirring of the motors beneath the chamber and held his breath as he waited for the final stage to happen.  
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A loud metallic clang rang through courtyard.   
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The sound of blades scraping together quickly cut through the evening air.  
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All at once the grinding of the gears ground to a half, and the remaining glass walls fell away, breaking upon impact with the ground, to reveal what lie inside.  
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There on the center ring of glass, lay the remains of the Khanum, neatly cleaved into sections by the hidden spring-loaded blades that served to hold up the inner glass walls along it's seams.  
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Erik's bloody lotus bloom now stood silent in that hated courtyard of death.  
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"So you see Madame," Erik said softly, "Mirrors can kill."  
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..  
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Epilogue:  
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Nadir listened to Erik's tale with an ashen face and a hard brow-line. "Erik. I simply don't know what to say."  
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"Then don't say anything."  
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"But Erik, you know that they will never rest until they find you. The entire country will be searching for you now," Nadir proclaimed.  
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"Yes, which is why we must both leave this place. You will be hunted too. No doubt on counts of accessory to the murder of the Khanum," Erik said, staring into the fire.  
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"Yes, I suppose that would be best," Nadir sighed. "I don't suppose I will ever see you again, will I?"  
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"Who knows. Fate has an interesting sense of humor. It's quite possible that our paths will once again cross."  
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"Promise me something though," Nadir said seriously.  
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"And what's that?" Erik asked.  
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"Promise me that you will never again kill, unless you have no other alternative. I'm not stupid and I know that there will be times you will have to strike first in order to save your own life, but please, I beg you, do not kill anyone merely for the perverted pleasure of it. You are better than that, and you know it."  
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Erik sighed and poked the fire with a stick, turning ashes over the fading embers of the burning brush. "I suppose if I don't, you will feel accountable for helping me escape and letting me live."  
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Nadir did not reply, but kept staring hard at his companion. "Erik, promise me..."  
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"I promise," Erik said with resigned finality. With the fire completely out, he stood and mounted his horse.  
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"Where will you go?" Nadir asked, handing him the reins.  
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"I don't know. Only time can tell. Look me up if you are ever in Paris," Erik said with a shrug of his shoulders. He urged his horse on and took off into a gallop.  
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Nadir nodded and watched Erik ride off into the underbrush. "Good-bye mon ami."  
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..  
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____________________-FIN-_________________________ 


End file.
